the roman hypocaust
Back in the time of the Roman Empire, a certain Cayo Sergio Orata, an engineer by profession and a chilly nature, had the great idea, in order to combat the cool Roman nights, to invent a system called Hypocaust.
This consisted of an oven outside the building which, once the wood was lit, the hot air produced was carried through pipes located under the ground. A great invention that made dispense with the rudimentary fireplace to use, at least for the wealthier population.
I don't know if the engineer was flattered by his fellow citizens for such an idea, although it was the least he deserved. I already have my doubts with the person in charge of having the oven at full capacity... My imagination makes me think of an unhappy slave of the time whose mission would be none other than to be able to control the fire in such a way that the temperature of the hot air did not exceed some limits. It would be, to put it in some way, a human thermostat always with the anguish of not roasting the patrician on duty, who could send him, without thinking twice, to the Roman circus as food for the animals that lived there. It was another era.
The Castilian Glory
After some time, let's talk about centuries, a Spaniard of Castilian origin (we Spaniards have always proven to be great inventors), further developed the invention of our friend Cayo, achieving a heating system based on the same physical principles, giving rise to the glory.
And what did the Glory consist of? Well, this was based on a home where firewood or straw was burned. This hot air from the combustion was passed under the flooring of the house through ducts, producing a pleasant sensation of heat, that is, they were in heaven (allow me the easy joke…)
Such was the success of the system that it is still used in some Castilian ancestral homes today.
From that moment until today, the relentless technology would develop a thousand and one ways to warm us. That sarmiento used in the home became gaseous or electric fuel but like everything in this life, the good things endure and in this case, the idea of how to warm ourselves in the best possible way that the Roman Cayo bequeathed to us, returned to its rights.
Cecather underfloor heating
And here we have the "Radiant Floor". At this point, few explanations should be given to describe what this system consists of.
The idea of that simple hypocaust and our Castilian Glory gave rise to a invisible and clean heating, since we will no longer need any oven or home. That heat derived from the embers will now be provided by our ally the sun, which will provide us with sufficient, ecological and clean energy to have our comfortable homes.
For the memory remains that self-sacrificing slave. We have replaced it with a simple device that will control the temperature of each room, even if we are far from our home.
Finally, I can only thank those heroes who, through their ingenuity and ability, made it possible to currently enjoy healthy heating, although with a modern and high-tech profile, with many years of history.